Contact: Diane Foote

Executive Director, ALSC

312-280-2162

dfoote@ala.org

For Immediate Release

August 7, 2007

South Central Library System to host ALSC 2008

Arbuthnot lecturer David Macaulay in Madison, Wis.

CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is pleased to announce that South Central Library System (SCLS) in Madison, Wis., has been chosen as the host site of the 2008 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture featuring David Macaulay, Caldecott Medalist and renowned author/illustrator. Macaulay won the Caldecott Medal in 1991 for “Black and White” (Houghton), and received Caldecott Honors in 1978 for “Castle” (Houghton) and 1974 for “Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction” (Houghton).

"We were fortunate in receiving a significant number of strong and attractive applications for David Macaulay’s Arbuthnot Lecture,” said Deborah Stevenson, chair of the Arbuthnot Committee. “South Central Library System’s application, however, was innovative and forward-thinking in its breadth of partnership and associated activities.”

SCLS has proposed programming that will not only celebrate children’s literature, but also Macaulay’s particular position as laureate of architecture and building. The combination of an accessible venue with plans for Web-casting will allow for a maximum number of participants.

Members of the 2008 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee are: Chair Deborah Stevenson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kate Carter, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Ore.; Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library; Susan Moore, Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library; and Gene Nelson, Provo (Utah) City Library.

For more information on the 2008 Arbuthnot Lecture, please visit the ALSC Web site at www.ala.org/alsc or contact Diane Foote, executive director of ALSC, at 312-280-2162 or dfoote@ala.org.